The present invention relates to measurement devices in general and more particularly to an electronic scale having an analog display for displaying a measured weight.
The concept of electro mechanical read out for instrumentation has a long history in automotive horology, aviation, metrology and the like. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4, 704,984 issued to Mayer on Nov. 10, 1987 and entitled xe2x80x9cDISPLAY DEVICExe2x80x9d discloses a display device for displaying two measured values on a graduated dial having scales arranged concentrically to each other and turnable pointers for indicating the value of the particular measurement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,360 entitled xe2x80x9cGLIDE PATH SYSTEM FOR USE WITH AIRCRAFT ALTIMETERSxe2x80x9d issued to Jourdan et al. on Jun. 7, 1983 discloses a system for providing an indication of a glide path for aircraft using a conventional altimeter having a graduated dial scale and a rotatable pointer which is controlled by an on-board computer to provide a time dependent moving indication of a descent rate on the dial scale which corresponds to a safe theoretical glide path.
Another patent entitled xe2x80x9cCHRONOGRAPH WATCH WITH DATE INDICATORxe2x80x9d issued to Gilomen et al. on Dec. 5, 1995 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,580) discloses a chronograph watch having a plurality of indicators for displaying the time of day in hours, minutes, and seconds as well as displaying particular time intervals in response to a controlling unit.
Prior art weight scales have used utilized rotating number dials and pointers associated with fixed indicia for displaying weight data to a user. However, such scales, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,893,685, 3.666.031, 3,478,618 and 3,460,642, utilize mechanical sensing mechanisms, levers, springs and multiple moving parts as part of their design. Scales which are in widespread use today typically utilize electronic means to provide a digital readout of the associated user weight. Current scales also employ sensing devices such as transducer load cell assemblies or piezoelectric sensors for measuring the weight, an analog to digital converter for converting the sensed signal into digital format, and a microcomputer for receiving the A/D converted data and displaying the digital representation onto a digital display, such as an LCD display. An example of such a device is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,309 issued to Nishiyama on Feb. 25, 1986 and U.S. Patent No. entitled xe2x80x9cELECTRICAL WEIGHING SCALExe2x80x9d issued to Germanton et al. and incorporated herein by reference.
However, none of the aforementioned apparatus utilize a sensor device which provides weight signal data to a digital processor for driving an electro mechanical actuator to produce an analog readout of body weight to a user.
A weighing apparatus comprising a platform for receiving a body to be weighted; at least one sensor coupled to the platform for sensing a force associated with the body and generating an analog signal indicative of the sensed force; a digital processor including analog to digital conversion means responsive to the analog signal for outputting a digital control signal; an actuator having an input for receiving the digital control signal for driving the actuator; and an analog display for displaying body weight based on the sensed force, the analog display comprising a dial having indicia thereon, and a moveable display member driven by the actuator to a position associated with particular indicia on the dial which represents the sensed force.
An apparatus which measures the body weight of an individual, comprising a platform for supporting the individual to be weighed; a plurality of sensors disposed within the platform for sensing a force exerted on the platform indicative of the weight of the individual and generating an analog signal proportional to the sensed force; electronic means for combining the analog signals from the plurality of sensors to form a combined electronic signal indicative of the weight of the individual; a microprocessor for generating a digital signal based on the electronic signal for driving an electro mechanical actuator for displaying the measured body weight on a display device, the display device comprising a graduated dial having at least one concentrically arranged scale and a rotatable pointer, the pointer driven in rotation by the actuator according to the processor to a position on the graduated dial which corresponds to the measured body weight of the individual.